How safe its it to lower my front suspension

[nimh2600]

Well i want to lower my front forks but i am not sure how much i can. i have a 78 hawk and it feels like its way to high in the front and i want to lower it to a more aggressive looking stance but how much can i lower it before its usless ?

 

[xb33bsa]

how hard do you ride ? how fast? any amount you lower it will compromise lean angle clearance,
you may be safe going as much as 1 " ,go too far and you may create a deathtrap

 

[Tim]

Also, how do you plan on lowering it?

Many people slide the forks up through the trees by up to an inch and don't die (I did it on my XS650). Don't combine that with taller rear shocks though - double whammy and you'll end up with screwy steering geometry. Bikes were designed by engineers smarter than most of us.

What have you done about the handlebars etc.?

Is this the bike we're talking about? It's not high by any stretch I'd suggest. Let's see pics of your bike.

Classified Moto's take on it

 

[xb33bsa]

the 400 hawk was a good handling bike, in 1978 i had 2 riding buddies that bought them new and i had an rd350
they could almost keep up
we didnt know what an aggressive stance was back then, we just rode the dang things

 

[nimh2600]

Well the bike is being put together right so there is not a good view but I measured out the hight and it was 3 inches lower to get it to the spot I want

 

[nimh2600]

Btw the handle bar is a broom handle but I like how low this bike is

 

[xb33bsa]

you will have to lower the rear as well and it will just be for cruising slow no corner carving for you

 

[Parkwood60]

Are you building a bike to look at, or one to ride? Chances are when you are sitting on the bike it will be lower, if not you have something drastically wrong with the fork. 3"? You have effectively taken away 1/2 the fork travel, and there is no chance of riding that and not having it bottom out on something.

I'm surprised with all the talk of stance thee days on bike that no one puts air caps on the forks and carries around a little pump. You could drop it just like a a car on air bags in the parking lot (well to a certain extent anyway)

 

[nimh2600]

i think that i will lower it after i get the new tires and rims painted if needed i also did not think that the bike would weigh it down too. but i am only 117 pounds so i don't know how much that will make a difference Thank you for all the reply's i will only lower it about an inch i think

 

[Tim]

Btw the handle bar is a broom handle but I like how low this bike is

That's a boulevard cruiser, and you wouldn't want to get into an emergency situation with it. Great for going in a straight line.

Until the bike is sitting on its two wheels with you on it etc, don't sweat the ride height. If slamming it is what you want, which is totally fine, then you can do that once the bike is running and more or less finished. You can shorten the forks 'properly' by cutting the springs and machining spacers to sit on the dampening rods, or slide them up the trees. Match with short rear shocks and some close hugging fenders and you're done.

Just don't hit a pothole, speed bump or expect any form of handling while you're grabbing a handful of front brake and swerving around the cager in front of you who decided they needed to stop NOW.